The Pittsburgh Pirates are in 3rd place in the N.L. Central with a 47-43 record which has them 1 game behind both the Cardinals and the Brewers. The Pirates are also only six games behind the Braves for the Wild Card. The Pirates should be buyers at the end of this month. They will be looking for a LF, SS and a catcher on the trade market but they don’t need any pitching which surprises the heck out of me. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Pirates in the first half of the 2011 season:

Team MVP: 24-year old righty swinging Andrew McCutchen has been dropped to 3rd in the batting order this year and it has pumped up his production numbers for the Pirates. McCutchen has played in 88 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 95 for 327 (.291 avg, .894 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 14 homers, 54 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. With a good second half, McCutchen could wind up being a 30/30 man.

Biggest Surprise: 28-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Karstens came into this season with a 12-27 career record with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP in his first 89 games (50 starts). He has looked like a much different pitcher this year for the Pirates. Karstens has pitched in 19 games (15 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 7-4 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. I’m not so sure Karstens can keep pitching like he is right now as he has allowed 17 homers in his first 98 2/3 innings this year.

Biggest Disappointment: 24-year old lefty swinging 3B Pedro Alvarez has been so bad for the Pirates that they have banished him to AAA. Alvarez has played in 36 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 26 for 125 (.208 avg, .587 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Alvarez has already whiffed 42 times this year as pitchers have been making easy work of him.

The Pirates got off to a good start over the weekend as they beat the Cubs two out of three games at Wrigley Field. The Pirates outscored the Cubs 14-12 as the wins were close ones. Closer Joel Hanrahan really pitched well in the opening series for the Pirates as he had 2 saves in his first two appearances. With such a young team, starting off well has to give the kids on the Pirates some much needed confidence going into this week.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 30-58 on the season which has them in last place in the N.L. Central, 18 games behind the Reds. It all hasn’t been bad for the Pirates this season and here’s a closer look at the surprises and disappointments of the first half:

Pleasant Surprises: Rookie Neil Walker has changed position from 3B to 2B and he’s playing well. Walker has played in 36 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 39 of 142 (.275 avg, .741 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 27-year old righty reliever Evan Meek made the N.L. All-Star team after posting a outstanding first half. Meek has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this year and he is 4-3 with 1 save, a 1.11 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. 32-year old lefty reliever Javier Lopez has been solid for the Bucs this season. He has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

Disappointments: The Pirates were depending on Akinori Iwamura to bat near the top of the lineup while starting at 2B in 2010. He is currently in AAA trying to work his way back to the majors. Iwamura has played in 54 games for the Pirates this year and he is 30 of 165 (.182 avg, .558 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 26-year old lefty swinging Jeff Clement was supposed to be the starting 1B for the Pirates this year but he’s playing with Iwamura in AAA right now. Clement played in 45 games for the Pirates this year and he was 24 of 127 (.189 avg, .560 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 9 RBIs. 26-year old righty starting pitcher Charlie Morton was in the rotation at the start of the year but has been putrid! Morton has started 10 games for the Pirates this year and he is 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. Morton has given up 66 hits (12 homers) in only 43 1/3 innings this season! 27-year old righty Daniel McCutchen has also been pathetic for the Pirates this year. McCutchen has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) for the Pirates this year and he is 1-4 with a 8.58 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has given up 36 hits (including an amazing 10 homers) in only 28 1/3 innings.

This is not a misprint. The Pirates are in 2nd place in the N.L. Central with a 7-5 record which has them only 1 game behind the Cardinals despite being outscored 75-53 this year. The Pirates are having big time problems in the pitching staff right now as they have a team ERA of 6.34 with a 1.53 WHIP. But they are still winning games and that is the most important stat. The Pirates host the Brewers for three games this week before traveling to Houston for three games.

The Pirates are tied for second place in the N.L. Central with the Brewers and Reds with a 3-3 record despite being outscored 45-30. Obviously the Pirates need to start pitching better or they are going to lose a ton of games this season. The Pirates’ pitching staff has a 7.47 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP which is putrid. The Pirates are hoping to get good pitching against the Giants in San Fran and then at home against the Reds this coming up weekend.